Champagne keen to work with Biden administration

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the incoming Biden administration in the United States will help stabilize the world order and give North America a good shot at beating COVID-19 and fighting climate change.

At the Conférence de Montréal of the @AmericasForum, I had the pleasure to highlight the importance of strong bilateral relations and effective multilateral institutions to face global challenges.

🇨🇦 will continue to lead the recovery effort with its international partners. pic.twitter.com/tCma8seL03

— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) December 15, 2020

Champagne, who did an unusual amount of jet-setting during the pandemic this past year, says he wants to kick off 2021 with a post-inauguration visit to Washington to connect with Antony Blinken, Biden's nominee for secretary of state.

Champagne tells The Canadian Press the incoming Democratic administration of president-elect Joe Biden won't mean an end to the protectionism that has bedevilled Canada-U. S. relations for more than a century.

But Champagne says Biden himself, his Montreal-educated vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, and Blinken all know Canada well.

Blinken will play the key role in delivering on Biden's promise to re-engage the U.S. with world, reversing President Donald Trump's "America First" foreign policy.

Champagne says Canada wants to work side-by-side with what has traditionally been its closest ally and friend, and he wants to deliver that message to Blinken personally and as early as the pandemic allows.